Search smh:

Search in:

Corruption warning on planning law reforms

Nicole Hasham

A PROPOSED shake-up of planning laws could breed corruption and undermine public confidence in the system, the Independent Commission Against Corruption says.

The warnings are contained in a submission to the state government's planning green paper, a series of reforms designed to make the regime more strategic, streamlined and community-focused.

The government proposes new "enterprise zones" to encourage innovation and investment, where development would be subject to few controls.

But the ICAC said introducing flexibility to the system "will create a corruption risk, especially when combined with the potential for proponents to obtain huge windfall profits through obtaining an approval". It called for strong processes to be established, including defined design quality standards and evidence to justify land uses.

Advertisement

The government also plans to simplify the "cumbersome" system of planning controls by repealing the state's environmental planning policies.

They would be replaced by "succinct" new policies to guide key areas such as housing supply, mining and biodiversity conservation, which would not have statutory backing. This could create confusion about how provisions are applied, the commission warned.

"Lack of certainty is a key cause of inconsistent decision making which undermines public confidence in the planning system," it said.

The corruption watchdog also expressed concern over suggestions that any development that complied with an area's strategic plan should proceed, warning that approval could be obtained "based only on compliance with vague sets of criteria".

Noting that many strategic plans were "general in nature", it said "subjective and ill-defined criteria are inherently open to varying interpretation and … provide a convenient cloak for corrupt conduct".

The commission supported several proposals contained in the green paper, including earlier community engagement, more emphasis on strategic planning as the cornerstone of decisions and enhanced governance of expert planning panels.

A spokesman for the Department of Planning said the government ''will not introduce a planning mechanism which constitutes an increased corruption risk''.

He said while proposed new planning policies would not be statutory instruments, they would be "identified in the Act'' and given effect through regional, subregional and local plans.

The green paper entrenched the concept of independent decision-making on development applications and involved communities closely in strategic planning, he said.

The government will consider submissions before a white paper is released later this year.